Desired Things

Sometimes, we stumble upon simple and straightforward messages that we didn't know we were looking for. It's good to pay attention.  Below is a prose poem by Max Erhmann which was written in 1927.

Wild Hibiscus Flowers

www.bloomsagardenshop.com. I have been so very lucky to do what I do.  One of the benefits that no one can put a value on is the friendships that I have made through my work at Mississippi Children's Home Services. Last night, I attended a meeting in Hattiesburg, MS, in the serene Depot Coffee House and Bistro.  Our Vines of the World Chair, Adrienne, and her mother run a beautiful adjacent store, Blooms, where they do flower arrangements (incredibly artistic and beautiful!), sell Mississippi artworks, and unusual specialty items such as the Wild Hibiscus Flower in syrup.

Appreciating

In this world that spins so fast with people rushing from one appointment to another and never taking the time to reflect or think, with children who have every minute of their days filled with organized activities, with families not taking the time to sit down and eat meals together, and with friends not taking the time to stop and tell each other how much they love and need one another, I am stopping now to share what I am appreciating today.  For the last two years, I have been trying to tell at least one person a day how I appreciate them and trying to find at least one thing or action that is so beautiful that it stops me in my tracks.  What follows are just some of the things I am seeing today.

Learning to Breathe

Sometimes I forget and think that being very, very busy will keep me moving ahead, moving towards a better life, towards fulfillment, towards contentment, towards stability.  The truth is that being busy all of the time, working so hard that I'm holding my breath until the project is over, isn't necessarily a good thing for anyone, especially me.

One Tree at a Time...

About two years ago, Tom and I were driving along Highland Drive (wraps around LeFleur's Bluff Park and the Science Museum before crossing over I-55 and heading into Belhaven) here in Jackson and noticed something unusual.  As we were bouncing along Highland (those who know Jackson know that we have VERY bouncy roads), we spotted a lone figure in the median kneeling next to a wheel barrow and tending to a very young tree. We had noticed some months before that the trees had been planted and though how lovely that was of the City of Jackson or the MS Department of Transportation to plant a green screen from the Interstate below. As we continued down the road, we came upon an old black truck parked in a turn around in the median. That was when we realized that the figure we saw tending to the trees was our neighbor, Josh Weiner! The person responsible for this work that is traditionally done by the city or MDOT was an individual.  (Let that sink in.)